Story 10 :: David McFadzean

David McFadzean is the creator of the ABC hit television show Home Improvement and was the executive story editor on the premiere season of Roseanne. He has also executive produced television shows with Carol Burnett, Ed Asner, Haley Joel Osment, Dave Chappelle and Dan Aykroyd. His film production credits include Where the Heart Is, What Women Want, and Walker Payne, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. David has a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of Evansville and a Master of Arts in Theater from Illinois State University. He is a writer, producer, and partner in Wind Dancer Films.

Storytelling has power.

Ever since God spoke and creation came into being, we’ve been telling each other stories.

Storytelling is in our DNA.

Why is our story compelling and believable?

In the coming years, will the church be involved in telling its own story?

Christian movies are a lot like pornography… poorly produced, poorly acted and you know what happens in the end.

Will we be involved in telling our story to mainline America?

We need to be involved in Hollywood.

There is only one graduate school with a degree in film in television that’s a Christian college.

We need to training and equipping filmmakers.

Without the training we will not be telling our story to mainline America in 20 years.

Films done by non-Christians have a radiance about them that seem Christian.

Non-Christians might get our story wrong sometimes but when they get it right it can be remarkable.

Our Story is an interesting story that needs to be told in all sorts of different ways.

Recognizing a good story is an art in of itself.

Good stories are hard to recognize.

We do ourselves a disservice to not live out that story in the real world.

Good stories go beyond morality and into beauty and mystery, just as the Gospel does.

Mystery is the confidence that all of the answers are out there while having the patience to live in the question.

Mystery is central to art.

Authentic mystery has a sense of paradox and a sense of faith.

Art involves imagination.

Art does not work for us, it works on us.

We’ve been content to reduce art to a cheerful pragmatism.

Some part of the church is always holding the arts in trust.

Literature held the art in trust for us in the last century.

Boomers made a big mistake with the arts.

They traded beauty for sentimentality

They traded mystery for morality.

They made art to offer comfort to the saints and evangelism to the lost.

There is a deadly separation between the theologian and the artist.

Art is useful in a much different way than a sermon or evangelism. A

Art is not proof of God; it’s proof of the search for God.

Art is a compelling search for God.

Knowing God does not stop the search.

Our story is going to be told wether we tell it or not.

We were created in God’s image and somewhere in our DNA is the story of redemption through suffering and death.

This story has the power to move us.

The Christian artist must assme the role of an Old Testmaent prophet, proclaiming that something is very wrong. Render the unspeakable speakable.

Read the best stories, see the best art, hear the best music.

Art comes into us.

Radiance is not a matter of passion.

Just because believe it doesn’t make it a studio.

Passion is not an essential element for a good story.

The urge to write does not make you a writer.

If you don’t have the craft, drop out.

Craft for the rest of your life.

You are signed off to improve your craft for the rest of your life.

Having the craft doesn’t mean you will succeed.

Give you art to imaginative people.

Evil is a part of radiance.

When you get an inoculation they are inoculating you with the disease.

When you write a script you have the ability to inoculate your audience.

You give them the darkness to know the gravity of it.

We are living in a territory held largely by the Devil.

See that as a call for the theologian and the artist to join forces. We need each other.

The church needs the artist.

The artist needs the church.

About Tim Schraeder

Tim Schraeder is obsessed with all things social media. Having worked with some of the world’s largest churches and para-church organizations, he served as an evangelist for social media with a knack for connecting people and spreading ideas that matter. He’s been a consultant and coach as well as a sought-after speaker and author who helped write the book on communication and social media for the church.
Today, Tim is passionate to help businesses and organizations connect, engage, and build loyal followers across all forms of social media. He is a die-hard Chicagoan who can be found in any neighborhood coffeeshop that has free wifi.